Anyone who likes their indie pop with a full order of mystery and drama, hold the pretension, will treasure this dark and enchanting album.

Attaching the Black Francis moniker to this album might ratchet up expectations too high for rabid Pixies fans, but Bluefinger is a good Charles Thompson album--it's still really enjoyable to hear him have fun and rock out, no matter what name he chooses to use.

C'est Com...Com...Complique is better than anything Faust have issued since 1999's Ravvivando - which is saying plenty - writing another elliptical chapter in one of the most fascinating sagas in the history of rock.

Now in her mid-sixties, LaVette is singing better than ever, and if she isn’t a household name, she ought to be. This is a remarkable album because this lady is a remarkable singer.

A Christmas Cornucopia is a real contender for best Christmas album of 2010.

While Peggy Sue's drastic musical overhaul doesn't always convince, it's an admirably brave effort which possesses enough quality to make it worth the occasional test of endurance.

Although it's more admirable than it is enjoyable, Sing to the Moon marks the arrival of a unique and major talent--one with a commanding voice seemingly from another dimension--who should be worth watching for many years to come.

The songwriting can be a bit samey, but the group writes some unexpectedly catchy hooks that might win over cynics.

Kudos to the group for deciding to do a little remodeling, but it might behoove them to keep the original floor plans, as the current arrangement feels a little out of character.

The mix of guests, which includes Deniece Williams, CeeLo Green, and Jessie Ware (who once covered Caldwell), add to the album's cross-generational character.

Ty Segall's influence may permeate Feels, but these musicians have enough ideas of their own to give this a compelling sound and personality of their own.

Dark, dislodged, and blown out while still being approachable, Better Strangers is a very impressive album.

On Hear the Lions Roar, Half Japanese demonstrate that after nearly 40 years of music-making, they're still creating some of the most engaging recordings of their lives, and that's truly something to believe in.

The album maintains the smouldering quality that Lower Dens have always had, but replaces all the washed-out splendor with exacting pop hooks borrowed straight from the Reagan era. It ends up being both the headiest and most commercial material the band has created. It’s a different beast from their earlier iterations, but a compelling remodelling with interlocking layers of both sound and cultural critique.

Not everything on Hot Pink is a knockout, but the experimentation results in some amazing standouts and other songs that are still fun or intriguing, even if they're not as memorable.

These kids know exactly what they want to do and they have the skills and imagination to make it work like an improbable magic trick. Which is what a band needs to beat the sophomore slump as decisively as they do here.

The Last Goodbye is a definite improvement over A Moment Apart, which felt a bit too overcooked in retrospect. Here, they get the balance right, refining their sound without rehashing it, and trying new ideas without sacrificing their own character.

Given how packed the guest list is, it's not surprising that this party runs a little long, but ultimately, each of Harmonics' tracks reflects the warmth and generosity of Goddard's creativity.

Several of the instrumentals recapture something of the Prefuse 73 magic, but Herren isn't entirely successful even when in cut-and-splice mode.

Seasons on Earth is a poetic, thoroughly engaging set from a now-mature songwriter, whose confidence in her musical language is as poetic as it is authoritative.

Hazards of Love won't convert anybody who already wrote the band off as overly precious bookworms with a Morrissey/Victorian ghost story fetish, but fans who have dutifully followed the Decemberists since their 2002 debut get to take home bragging rights this time around.

Even when the songs sound coherent and have some interesting moments, the jarring beats still come on as incessantly aggressive with no actual power, inspiration, or deeper statement driving the noise.

It's a challenging album, especially at close to an hour in length. Its one that holds its share of fascination, however, with its alternately biting and poetic lyrics, persistent ache, and unpredictable patterns that are still discernable if often transient.

Here, Jones ties up loose ends, unafraid to sound smooth or sultry, letting in just enough dissonance and discord to give this dimension, creating a subtle but rather extraordinary low-key record that functions as a piece of mood music but lingers longer, thanks to its finely crafted songs.

Jayne and company do manage to pull off a few tracks that capture the old fire and brimstone of classic LAL, but the shiny textures and generic songwriting are too much to overcome, rendering Holy a disappointing addition to the band's previously strong catalog.

Tarwater's continual evolution into something other than what it was before, however subtle each individual step might be, proceeds as ever on 2011's Inside the Ships, the group's 11th full-length.

Most recordings of lullabies are long on charm and short on substance, but the Wainwright Sisters have made an album that will suit a thoughtful mom or dad as much as a restless youngster, and Songs in the Dark is something special from two remarkable talents.

It's exciting to hear Benson take some new risks with these songs, but also a relief that he never gets too far away from the deft songwriting and pop sensibilities that he's been refining for all these years.